SEM method – for heavily armoured cells

1. Pipette cells of interest individually from samples into a small glass multiwell plate, with wells containing 0.2 µm filtered seawater.

2. Place the final small drop on a 2 – 5 um 13 mm diameter filter in a swinnex filter holder.

3. Rinse the sample with filter seawater.

4. Place the filter in its filter holder in a petri dish in the fume hood, fix the sample in a few drops of 4 % formalin or glutaraldehyde for 30 minutes.

5. Filter this through by attaching the syringe and letting it drip through.

6. Fill the syringe with distilled water, leave for 10 minutes, then empty.

7. Go through 70. 90, 95, 100% ethanol steps described above, with 10 minutes at each step.

8. Air dry overnight.

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